sometimes when you think you've had it rough...
think of the other guy or gal.
take for instance my 28 year old sister and I.
i've been preliminarily diaged with r.a. (so i know i have a lifetime of aches and pains to live with).
but my 28 year old youngest sister has been pooed on by the gene pool of live in a huge way.
she had a heart attack thursday, and now finds herself in a very good hospital in n.e. getting the ballon treatment.
has another one (attack) on sunday night.
today they are going back in to put in the stent or stents needed. she had 5 blockages and partials in all.
needless to say her life will/has changed from here on out.
Wow I am sorry to hear about your sister and hope that she makes a full recovery. Does she have a specific medical condition that caused these heart problems at such a young age? Does heart disease run in your family?
I hope that they have started treating your RA so that you don't have as many aches and pains and some of the nastiness of RA can be avoided.
[QUOTE=grammaskittles]Wow I am sorry to hear about your sister and hope that she makes a full recovery. Does she have a specific medical condition that caused these heart problems at such a young age? Does heart disease run in your family?
I hope that they have started treating your RA so that you don't have as many aches and pains and some of the nastiness of RA can be avoided.
[/QUOTE]
yup genetics.
runs in the family, HUGE.
i've always been on top of my health, proactive about anything to do with heart disease. lipitor, b.p. meds, asprin, all as conditions developed and warrented it. had a stress test just last month, came out clean, nothing there at all.
the r.a. is another story. oh well.
she's the mother of twin 4 y.o. boys. needless to say she has been on an emtional roller coaster for a few days now.
I am so sorry to hear about your sister, it must be awful for the whole family especially her two little boys and of course her. I wish her a full recovery . Genetically I also come from a high risk heart problem family but have also tested so far to have no underlying disease .There are so many people far worse off than ourselves but it is so hard to think about their pain when our own can be so great. I always feel so humbled when I have been to physiotherapy as there is a little boy of 18 months old who suffers from a bone disease and cannnot walk or stand and is bent over but he has a permanent smile on his face, he really is such an inspiration.I do still moan about my aches and pains because I can feel these in my body not just in my heart.
Harold, sorry to hear about your sister. Heart problems run in my family too, but not such serious problems at a young age. Fortunately, she got the medical treatment in time. My younger brother had a massive heart attack at 40, had to be airlifted to a hospital 2 hours away and they put a stent in his heart.
A few months later, I was in the cardio wing myself with pericarditis and that was the beginning of my diagnosis with RA.
My brother was in a horrible truck accident a few months ago where everything about the truck was crushed but him. They thought he was too. They airlifted him out, 2 hour flight. Did emergency surgery on his legs. Cardiologist said he had another heart attack while he was trapped for hours in the truck. He did an angiogram. It was a little inflamed around the stent, otherwise he came out okay. In fact, he passed all the rest of his tests with flying colors.
I guess what I am trying to say is those stents can take a lot of abuse. Having good follow up care with her Cardiologist will help ensure that she stays healthy. And, now that she knows that she has a problem, she should read up on what to watch out for in her children as problems in children do go undetected. She might even want to mention that to her Cardiologist to make sure that their futures are covered. It's the only way to fight the gene pool.
It's horrible that she is faced with this crisis. But now she can bring it under control. She probably has been feeling bad and not knowing why. After the shock of it dies down, she should be able to return to her life better prepared.
My kids also curse me for the genes I passed on. They joke about it, but they are none too happy.
I hope she recovers quickly with no more problems. Scares the heck out of you though when it's your younger sibling.
Harold, you're right. We should always stop looking at ourselves so much, and become more aware of the suffering of the person next to us. It is from others that we can take our strength and inspiration, no matter how tough our own battle is, and then we can offer hope and strength to others as well.Wow, Harold. You are so right. I always try and keep my disease in perspective by remembering how many other 'worse' things there are that could happen to any one of us.
It doesn't make our disease any less painful but it does help me to thank God that I am alive and with my family!
Sending you prayers for your sister and all your loved ones.
Laura
update.
they put a stent in her today to keep the artery that they opened up from collapsing.
they ran a big bunch of tests yesterday trying to figure out what could be causing such a clog up in her at such a young age.
the cardiologist isn't convinced its all "genes". he thinks something else is up.
results maybe tomorrow.
That's tough, Harold. But I'm glad your sister has a doctor that's going to keep investigating the cause. A lot of doctors will fix the immediate problem and be done with it.
My mom was having kidney and heart problems at the same time. That really through them for a loop trying to figure it all out.
I know it's hard to watch her go through this, but what a relief to have such a caring brother. Wish mine were more like you. I have three and they have yet to get it. My sister either.
I really hope they discover the cause and easily fix it. I know that would relieve your mind as well.